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Donald Trump, U.S. President

Posted January 20th, 2017 at 5:14 pm (UTC-4)

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Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2017. (AP)

Just as the Constitution proscribes, the peaceful transfer of power from the 44th President of the United States to the 45th took place at 12:00pm January 20, 2017.

In his inaugural address, Donald J. Trump maintained the “Make America Great Again” campaign mantra that helped sweep him into office. And he took the theme of “transfer of power” a step further, saying “we are transferring power from Washington, DC and giving it back to you, the American people.”

He re-emphasized “America first” and promised to follow “two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.”

A new chapter in U.S. history is about to be written.

Donald Trump and the New American Patriotism

The speech was vintage Trump: politically incorrect, critical of both parties, amped up, biting, strongly delivered, and wildly ambitious. Anyone who believed Trump would change his beliefs or style when he assumed the office of the presidency was proven wrong. He’s not going to change. And he’s not going to let up….

There will be more policy specifics when Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on his budget proposal. Instead the inaugural address was Trump distilled: nationalist, populist, and ready to fight.

He better be. Trump delivered his combative speech in the midst of the very establishment he is attempting to overthrow. Surrounded by Bushes, Clintons, Obamas, Bidens, and Ryans, Trump aligned himself with the crowd against the celebrities and VIPs on the dais.

Police use pepper spray on protesters in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in a chaotic confrontation blocks from Donald Trump’s inauguration as protesters registered their rage against the new president. (AP)

Donald Trump’s Dark, Narrow Inauguration

A traditional inaugural address is in many ways designed to disappoint a new president’s most ardent supporters. Those supporters want to relish a victory over opponents; presidents want to burnish political capital by broadening their appeal.

President Donald Trump inverted that formula on Friday, when he delivered remarks to the “tens of millions” of people “at the center” of his “historic movement.”

In almost literal terms, Trump’s first words as president were written for the smaller half of the country that sent him to the White House.

Trump’s Nationalist Anthem

The speech is being portrayed as radical, which is in part a reaction to the fact that Trump didn’t make any attempt to elevate his rhetoric and to some of his incendiary verbiage (he referred, when talking about crime, to “this American carnage”). But this is to overlook the genuinely unifying notes. He called us “one nation,” and developed the point in a passage at the end, beginning with his promise that “a new national pride will heal our divisions.”…

Despite the combative tone and scorching evaluation of how we got to this point, it was an incredibly optimistic address. Trump didn’t hedge his promises, he made them as big and bold as ever: “America will start winning again. America will start winning like never before.” It’s a benchmark that few presidents would want to set for themselves. But Trump didn’t get here by being timid.

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during the Inauguration at the Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2017. (Reuters)

America First: Donald Trump’s Dark, Populist Inaugural Address

Reciting a litany of horribles including gangs, drugs, crime, poverty, and unemployment, Trump told the nation, “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”…

It was a speech that made unusually specific promises, eschewing the abstract uplift of his recent predecessors. Toward the end of his speech, which spanned roughly twenty minutes, he warned, “We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it.” That could be read as a warning to the other leaders on the dais, but it is also, he seemed to acknowledge, a challenge to himself.

President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Speech Was a Declaration of War

Rain falls on Stephen Glinn as he waits for the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, Jan. 20, 2017 (AP)

President Donald J. Trump did not walk to the microphone in front of the Capitol today to salve wounds or mend hurt feelings. There were no calls for unity or attempts to bridge the political divide. After being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, Trump issued a call to arms and declared war on the ruling class….

Trump’s inauguration speech neither looked nor sounded like a typical maiden speech from a new president trying to bring disparate political factions together following a bitter and contentious election season. Instead, it resembled a battlefield address meant to communicate to the troops that their commander will accept nothing short of total victory.